A long-unused building in Donaldsonville is set to become the first community center on the west bank of Ascension Parish, with a planned $7 million renovation to the former Louisiana National Guard Armory.

The roughly 13,000-square-foot building at 321 Houmas St. will receive upgrades to include a full-size gymnasium and seven classrooms for health, wellness and recreational programs, according to the parish’s Communications Director Marshall Courtney.

The building will also get a new roof and flooring, full climate control and electrical and plumbing reinforcement to allow the building to function as a storm shelter, he said.

The parish-owned building sits on about 3.25 acres, though there are no plans for any additional construction on the property. The new center will be operated by the Ascension Parish Recreation Department.

The project will go out to bid during the last quarter of this year. However, Courtneu said there is no timeline for completion yet.

“This project has been a long time coming. We began developing this vision during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing the critical need for a centralized community and emergency space in West Ascension. There were no previous plans for the building that fell through. Rather, we have been diligently working behind the scenes for the past few years, applying for grants and capital outlay funding to ensure we can do this right. The timing is finally aligning to make this vision a reality,” said Ricky Compton, chief administrative officer for the parish.

The building was originally dedicated on Dec. 6, 1953, as the Louisiana National Guard Armory at Donaldsonville. The National Guard used the space for decades before moving out in the late 2000s or early 2010s, Courtneu said.

The building was then used as a polling place and as storage for the clerk of court’s records. When a new courthouse was built in Gonzales, the records were moved, and the building has sat completely unused since 2020.